Liberty Advance

A trip down the socio-spiritual consciousness... On my last visit to San Francisco, I had two experiences that continue to help me define the spiritual movement in America. The first was an invitation to see Lama Anam Thubten speak at his center in Richmond Point, the second was an email I received from a former employee of Yoga Journal. I saw the lama speak on a Sunday morning, a perfect sun-lit morning on the east bay, cool and quiet. Upon entering the meditation center I was filled with the immediate calm of the Lama and his students. The community was gathering for the talk. Lama Thubten sat quietly at the front of the chapel in meditation as we gathered. Time passed and I realized that instead of waiting, I too should be meditating. I took a few breaths and opened my eyes to gaze upon him, to connect with his essence, to attune myself to his vibration. He was utterly still and serene and even in meditation I found myself thinking about him, as he sat, clearly content with his own body, his own posture. The chimes rang and we read the heart sutra and chanted. It was followed by a short break, and then the Lama gave a Dharma Talk on pure awareness. At the end we were invited to sit before him and greet him and while in line I watched my mind conjure up a hundred different things I might say or not say, and ultimately realized that I simply just had to open my heart and be still. As I watched others kneel before him, particularly an elderly woman who needed assistance placing herself before him, I felt a short wave of love surge over me. My heart opened, tears welled in my eyes, and then it passed. When my turn came, I knelt before him and had no words for him, only short answers to his few questions. He gave me a blessing, forehead to forehead, heart to heart. And I left with what he would probably call a feeling of being "blissed out."

2011 is the year of tea. For me, Gong Fu Cha or "making tea with efforts" is a powerful meditation on the five senses and living to appreciate the subtle nature of our reality. I've only been recently introduced to the Chinese practice of brewing tea, but find, like many traditions from the Chinese culture, that it resonates deeply with my soul. One of the most difficult paths for the task driven, faced paced, modern yogi that I am, is to appreciate things through my senses. Often I find myself finishing a meal without having even taken a moment to appreciate the scent of the food, or take the time after a yoga class to really feel my body and the sensations that I am experiencing on a deep level. It is so easy to get caught up in the mind, in the activity of the day, in what blog I'm going to write later, or what website update is looming ahead of me. To stop and smell the "tea" is a real gift. I am learning the many styles of tea, based on their cultivation, like oolong or pu'erh, two words that were not even in my vocabulary a year ago.

The Chinese tea ceremony begs a moment to sit down and take on the task of understanding something deeply, not with the mind, but with the five senses. I often refer to the feeling state of the body as the sixth sense. Tea requires feeling. It demands to be appreciated not only through taste, but smell, sight, and the elusive sixth sense. How does the tea make you feel? I've been off coffee, red meat, chocolate, and most refined sugar for 16 days. I am already feeling quite different. This is allowing me to feel the sensations of the calming peptides being released from the tea. The antioxidants pulsing into my cells and rejuvenating me.

I will be writing about my experiences often, to take you on the journey with me. Today I had my first Chinese Tea Ceremony, by myself, with a tea table and Yixing Zisha that my brother gifted me to encourage this new practice. The tea was Gaba Oolong which is a tea exposed to nitrogen rich environments during process to activate the healing and calming qualities of the tea on the nervous system. It tastes amazing. I have yet to unlock its fully complexity of course, a process which could be years down the road, but I felt that it was a great start. I transcribed the process of Gong Fu Cha and hung it next to my tea table. Here is one way to prepare tea to be served in Gong Fu Cha.

工夫茶 Gong Fu Cha :"Making Tea with Efforts"

Preparation

溫壺燙杯
"the warm pot heats the cups"
The cups and pot are warmed and sterilized with hot water

鑒賞佳茗
"Appreciates the Good Tea"
Appreciate the appearance, smell and characteristics of the tea leaves

烏龍入宮
"The Black Dragon Enters the Palace"
The Zisha is filled with tea

懸壺高沖
"Rinsing from an elevated pot"
The leaves are rinsed with hotter

春风拂面
"The Spring wind brushes the surface"
Any bubbles or debris are scooped away from the surface of the zisha and then the tea is closed with the lid and sealed with hot water

重洗仙顏
"Bathe the immortal twice"
The wash is discarded into the cups

You are now ready to serve the guest!